Why is an airspace strategy needed?

Aviation relies on the scarce resource that is airspace to ensure that passengers, businesses, the military and leisure flyers enjoy the many benefits aviation brings.

The basic structure of the UK’s airspace was developed over forty years ago. Since then there have been huge changes, including a hundred fold increase in demand for aviation.

Throughout Europe there is a move to simplify and harmonise the way airspace and air traffic control is used through the Single European Sky project. In the UK and Ireland we’re meeting those and other issues through the Future Airspace Strategy (FAS) which sets out a plan to modernise airspace by 2020.